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erronis
erronis's Journal
erronis's Journal
August 25, 2024
Joe Moore, who for years investigated the Ku Klux Klan, issues a chilling warning for the 2024 election and beyond
Members of the Proud Boys stand outside the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Photograph: Jim Urquhart/Reuters
FBI informant's book predicts far-right violence: 'we should be afraid'
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/25/joe-moore-white-robes-broken-bandages-kkkJoe Moore, who for years investigated the Ku Klux Klan, issues a chilling warning for the 2024 election and beyond
Members of the Proud Boys stand outside the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Photograph: Jim Urquhart/Reuters
Americas fraught 2024 election could be hit by far-right violence, warns a high-profile FBI informant who spent years infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan in a new book.
Joe Moore spent a decade tasked with infiltrating KKK chapters in Florida to investigate enduring ties between law enforcement and the white supremacist organization, an assignment that included disrupting a murder plot by a trio of Klansmen who worked as prison guards.
Now the former US army sniper is out with a book, White Robes and Broken Badges, detailing those experiences and applying the lessons he learned to an approaching election freighted with fears of the impact of far-right and white supremacist groups.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in May reported that two out of three Americans said they were concerned that political violence could follow the 5 November election.
Unfortunately, I think its relevant to any time in our nations history, not just this election, Moore says. Far-right ideology has two origins, he has come to learn. One is geographical, where you are raised up in an area where that ideology is simply a part of a belief system. The second is a generational origin in which its handed down.
Joe Moore spent a decade tasked with infiltrating KKK chapters in Florida to investigate enduring ties between law enforcement and the white supremacist organization, an assignment that included disrupting a murder plot by a trio of Klansmen who worked as prison guards.
Now the former US army sniper is out with a book, White Robes and Broken Badges, detailing those experiences and applying the lessons he learned to an approaching election freighted with fears of the impact of far-right and white supremacist groups.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in May reported that two out of three Americans said they were concerned that political violence could follow the 5 November election.
Unfortunately, I think its relevant to any time in our nations history, not just this election, Moore says. Far-right ideology has two origins, he has come to learn. One is geographical, where you are raised up in an area where that ideology is simply a part of a belief system. The second is a generational origin in which its handed down.
August 25, 2024
Industrial agriculture has reshaped plant evolution to prioritize high yields, often overlooking environmental adaptability and resilience. University of Vermont researchers emphasize the importance of smallholder farmers diverse, locally adapted crops (landraces) for future food security in a climate-changing world, advocating for policies that value and integrate these traditional seeds and farming insights for sustainable agriculture.
We Have "Disrupted Evolutionary Processes" - Modern Seeds Aren't Ready for Climate Change
https://scitechdaily.com/we-have-disrupted-evolutionary-processes-modern-seeds-arent-ready-for-climate-change/Industrial agriculture has reshaped plant evolution to prioritize high yields, often overlooking environmental adaptability and resilience. University of Vermont researchers emphasize the importance of smallholder farmers diverse, locally adapted crops (landraces) for future food security in a climate-changing world, advocating for policies that value and integrate these traditional seeds and farming insights for sustainable agriculture.
Since World War II, humans have profoundly transformed the evolution of agricultural plants, reshaping our seed systems through industrial farming methods to meet the demands of a growing population. However, according to UVM researchers, in the face of a changing climate in the coming decades, the seeds that will sustain the world are in the care of smallholder farmers.
In a new discussion in Plants, People, Planet, Chen and coauthors examine how the emergence of professional crop breeders has disrupted evolutionary processes to reshape the entire food system. The mass production of high-yielding seeds in limited varieties has created a chasmic divide between a formal seed system, which now sells most seeds worldwide, and the informal seed system, which consists of farmers who select their own seeds to develop diverse, locally adapted crop varieties, known as landraces.
In selecting these landraces, smallholder farmers provide evosystem servicesthe benefits we gain from biodiversity, developed through evolutionary processes, Chen, a Fellow at the Gund Institute for Environment, explains. These services include crops adaptation to stresses including drought, salinity, and pests, which, she adds, are expected to increase as the climate warms, noting such services are crucial for the future of sustainability.
Formal seed system crop breeders have selected varieties with a singular focus on achieving high yields, Chen says. The assumption is that breeding is a science of unlocking a crops yield potentialthat modernity will feed the world. This has been achieved using fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides to recreate essentially the same fertile environment regardless of location. Crop breeders have selected modern seed varieties to grow in these ideal conditions, Chen says.
In a new discussion in Plants, People, Planet, Chen and coauthors examine how the emergence of professional crop breeders has disrupted evolutionary processes to reshape the entire food system. The mass production of high-yielding seeds in limited varieties has created a chasmic divide between a formal seed system, which now sells most seeds worldwide, and the informal seed system, which consists of farmers who select their own seeds to develop diverse, locally adapted crop varieties, known as landraces.
In selecting these landraces, smallholder farmers provide evosystem servicesthe benefits we gain from biodiversity, developed through evolutionary processes, Chen, a Fellow at the Gund Institute for Environment, explains. These services include crops adaptation to stresses including drought, salinity, and pests, which, she adds, are expected to increase as the climate warms, noting such services are crucial for the future of sustainability.
Formal seed system crop breeders have selected varieties with a singular focus on achieving high yields, Chen says. The assumption is that breeding is a science of unlocking a crops yield potentialthat modernity will feed the world. This has been achieved using fertilizers, irrigation, and pesticides to recreate essentially the same fertile environment regardless of location. Crop breeders have selected modern seed varieties to grow in these ideal conditions, Chen says.
August 24, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/aug/24/nonna-caterina-was-right-olive-oil-wastewater-heralded-as-new-superfood
Olive oil wastewater heralded as new superfood
Nonna Caterina was right: olive oil wastewater heralded as new superfoodhttps://www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/aug/24/nonna-caterina-was-right-olive-oil-wastewater-heralded-as-new-superfood
Olive oil described as liquid gold in Homers Iliad is renowned for its health benefits. Not only is it delicious, it is anti-inflammatory, good for the gut, beneficial for the heart, and may even help us feel happier and live longer.
Scientists are now turning their attention, however, to the murky, brown and previously discarded by-product of its production olive mill wastewater (OMW) and have discovered it may be an even more powerful superfood.
OMW is left over after olives have been ground and their oil separated a watery residue squeezed out from the remaining mulch.
It was previously considered a bit of a nuisance as, if not properly managed, it can contaminate surrounding soil and water, but now it is being commended for its protective and anti-inflammatory potential.
Scientists are now turning their attention, however, to the murky, brown and previously discarded by-product of its production olive mill wastewater (OMW) and have discovered it may be an even more powerful superfood.
OMW is left over after olives have been ground and their oil separated a watery residue squeezed out from the remaining mulch.
It was previously considered a bit of a nuisance as, if not properly managed, it can contaminate surrounding soil and water, but now it is being commended for its protective and anti-inflammatory potential.
August 24, 2024
A memo went out Thursday night
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts holds back tears Thursday night in Chicago.
...
Elizabeth Warren And The DFHs - Tom Sullivan
https://digbysblog.net/2024/08/24/elizabeth-warren-and-the-dfhs/A memo went out Thursday night
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) of Massachusetts holds back tears Thursday night in Chicago.
An old speakers trick at the end introductory applause is to settle ones hands on the sides of the podium to quiet an audience and signal time to begin speaking. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tried that on Thursday night, the cheers seemed for a moment as if they might subside. But Democratic National Convention delegates packed to the rafters in Chicagos United Center were not having it. The cheers swelled anew, and louder still. Overcome with emotion, Warren pulled back from the podium a half step and wiped away a tear.
Warrens ovation was the loudest and longest of any speaker save for President Joe Bidens heros welcome late Monday night, and Vice President Kamala Harriss on Thursday as the Democrats presidential nominee. President Barack Obamas matched Warrens welcome in length but not in intensity. It was immediate and rapturous, as if springing from delegates hearts and souls.
Joe Bidens and Nancy Pelosis legacies will not be fully appreciated until historians weave together how their personal stories and battle scars, legislative accomplishments and deep political skills, built the country this generations children will inherit.
Nevertheless, what we witnessed in Chicago was not only a generational passing of the Democratic Partys torch from Biden to Harris, but the passing of an entire generation of Democratic establishment, though they may not yet know it.
Warrens ovation was the loudest and longest of any speaker save for President Joe Bidens heros welcome late Monday night, and Vice President Kamala Harriss on Thursday as the Democrats presidential nominee. President Barack Obamas matched Warrens welcome in length but not in intensity. It was immediate and rapturous, as if springing from delegates hearts and souls.
Joe Bidens and Nancy Pelosis legacies will not be fully appreciated until historians weave together how their personal stories and battle scars, legislative accomplishments and deep political skills, built the country this generations children will inherit.
Nevertheless, what we witnessed in Chicago was not only a generational passing of the Democratic Partys torch from Biden to Harris, but the passing of an entire generation of Democratic establishment, though they may not yet know it.
...
Democratic Socialists of America candidate, former bartender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, then 28, came from nowhere in 2018 to upset Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary in his Bronx and Queens district after outraising her 10-1. The veteran Crowley, leader of the local Democratic machine, was seen as possible next in line to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Hes gone. DNC delegates chanted A-O-C when she took the stage on Monday night.
Harris has moved left since arriving in Washington, but despite Donald Trumps branding her far left, she is not. But if Warrens stunning welcome was any indication, Harris may be lagging somewhat behind the party she now leads. If progressive politicos are DFHs, the United Center was filled to the brim with them on Thursday night.
This is no longer Sens. Chuck Schumers or Dick Durbins Democratic Party, nor even Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis. Did they get the memo?
Harris has moved left since arriving in Washington, but despite Donald Trumps branding her far left, she is not. But if Warrens stunning welcome was any indication, Harris may be lagging somewhat behind the party she now leads. If progressive politicos are DFHs, the United Center was filled to the brim with them on Thursday night.
This is no longer Sens. Chuck Schumers or Dick Durbins Democratic Party, nor even Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis. Did they get the memo?
August 16, 2024
Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo's Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/planned-parenthood-conservative-activist-leonard-leo/A federal lawsuit in Texas against Planned Parenthood has a web of ties to conservative activist Leonard Leo, whose decades-long effort to steer the U.S. court system to the right overturned Roe v. Wade, yielding the biggest rollback of reproductive health access in half a century.
Brought by an anonymous whistleblower and later joined by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the suit alleges the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and three Planned Parenthood affiliates defrauded the Texas and Louisiana Medicaid programs by collecting $17 million for services provided while it fought state efforts to remove it as an approved provider.
The suit claims violations of the False Claims Act, an obscure but powerful law protecting the government from fraud, and seeks $1.8 billion in penalties from Planned Parenthood, according to a motion that lawyers for the whistleblower filed in federal court in 2023.
The lawsuit builds on efforts over years by the religious right and politicians who oppose abortion to deliver blows to Planned Parenthood which provides sexual and reproductive health care at nearly 600 sites nationwide now bolstered by Leos work reshaping the American judiciary.
Brought by an anonymous whistleblower and later joined by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the suit alleges the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and three Planned Parenthood affiliates defrauded the Texas and Louisiana Medicaid programs by collecting $17 million for services provided while it fought state efforts to remove it as an approved provider.
The suit claims violations of the False Claims Act, an obscure but powerful law protecting the government from fraud, and seeks $1.8 billion in penalties from Planned Parenthood, according to a motion that lawyers for the whistleblower filed in federal court in 2023.
The lawsuit builds on efforts over years by the religious right and politicians who oppose abortion to deliver blows to Planned Parenthood which provides sexual and reproductive health care at nearly 600 sites nationwide now bolstered by Leos work reshaping the American judiciary.
They filed the case in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, where Matthew Kacsmaryk is the only judge. He is a longtime member of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal juggernaut for which Leo has worked for over 25 years in various capacities and currently serves as co-chair.
Kacsmaryks rulings have curtailed access to reproductive health since the Senate confirmed him in 2019. He suspended the FDAs approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion, propelling the issue to the Supreme Court, which ultimately threw out the case. In another case, Kacsmaryk ruled to limit young peoples access to birth control through a federal family planning program.
Kacsmaryks rulings have curtailed access to reproductive health since the Senate confirmed him in 2019. He suspended the FDAs approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion, propelling the issue to the Supreme Court, which ultimately threw out the case. In another case, Kacsmaryk ruled to limit young peoples access to birth control through a federal family planning program.
August 15, 2024
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/15/shell-oil-project-2025-climate-crisis
Revealed: Shell oil non-profit donated to anti-climate groups behind Project 2025
Source: The Guardian
Foundation says it does not endorse any organizations while funneling hundreds of thousands to rightwing causes
A US foundation associated with oil company Shell has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to religious right and conservative organizations, many of which deny that climate change is a crisis, tax records reveal.
Fourteen of those groups are on the advisory board of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint proposing radical changes to the federal government, including severely limiting the Environment Protection Agency.
Shell USA Company Foundation sent $544,010 between 2013 and 2022 to organizations that broadly share an agenda of building conservative power, including advocating against LGBTQ+ rights, restricting access to abortions, creating school lesson plans that downplay climate change and drafting a suite of policies aimed at overhauling the federal government.
Donees include the Heartland Institute, a longtime purveyor of climate disinformation, which published a video on YouTube in May stating incorrectly that the scientific data continue to show there is no climate crisis. Other groups that have received donations include the American Family Association, which claims that the climate change agenda is an attack on Gods creation, as well as the Heritage Foundation, the lead organization behind Project 2025.
Fourteen of those groups are on the advisory board of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint proposing radical changes to the federal government, including severely limiting the Environment Protection Agency.
Shell USA Company Foundation sent $544,010 between 2013 and 2022 to organizations that broadly share an agenda of building conservative power, including advocating against LGBTQ+ rights, restricting access to abortions, creating school lesson plans that downplay climate change and drafting a suite of policies aimed at overhauling the federal government.
Donees include the Heartland Institute, a longtime purveyor of climate disinformation, which published a video on YouTube in May stating incorrectly that the scientific data continue to show there is no climate crisis. Other groups that have received donations include the American Family Association, which claims that the climate change agenda is an attack on Gods creation, as well as the Heritage Foundation, the lead organization behind Project 2025.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/15/shell-oil-project-2025-climate-crisis
August 14, 2024
I hope the NYTimes has cashed the check that pays for their horrific reporting. If djt and ilk get into power, that money will be worthless.
WTF is going on at The Times?
https://digbysblog.net/2024/08/14/leader-of-what/I hope the NYTimes has cashed the check that pays for their horrific reporting. If djt and ilk get into power, that money will be worthless.
The spouses sharp eyes picked out a detail in a New York Times account of Ukraines surprise counterattack last week that sent its forces over the border into Russia:
You take some of our land, Vlad? Fine, well take some of yours.
But that account from Monday is not what raised the wifes ire. It was the story in Tuesdays The Morning briefing by German Lopez on what Ukraine hoped to gain from the incursion: to divert Russian troops from strategic locations, to improve Ukrainian morale, to impress Washington, and to shore up support abroad:
Some leaders, including Donald Trump? And Trump is the leader of what?
Which leaders want to cut off aid?
Whose voters are no longer as enthusiastic?
Ukrainian troops sliced easily through a thinly defended border, pushing tens of miles into Russia and shifting the narrative of the war after a glum year in which Ukraine had struggled, often in vain, to hold back Russian advances across its eastern front.
By Monday, Ukraines commanding general had told President Volodymyr Zelensky that his troops held 390 square miles of territory in Russias southeastern Kursk region. Two dozen settlements were overrun.
You take some of our land, Vlad? Fine, well take some of yours.
But that account from Monday is not what raised the wifes ire. It was the story in Tuesdays The Morning briefing by German Lopez on what Ukraine hoped to gain from the incursion: to divert Russian troops from strategic locations, to improve Ukrainian morale, to impress Washington, and to shore up support abroad:
Kyiv has relied on aid from Western nations to defend itself. But voters in those countries are no longer as enthusiastic about supplying Ukraine with weapons. Some leaders, including Donald Trump, have suggested they want to cut off the aid. A battlefield victory against Russia, even if its not strategically important, could get skittish supporters back on board.
Some leaders, including Donald Trump? And Trump is the leader of what?
Which leaders want to cut off aid?
Whose voters are no longer as enthusiastic?
August 9, 2024
Flying Clean and Green: Hydrogen Flights Set to Revolutionize Air Travel
https://scitechdaily.com/flying-clean-and-green-hydrogen-flights-set-to-revolutionize-air-travel/Hydrogen-powered flight would offer new opportunities for fossil-free travel, and technological advancements in the field are moving fast. New studies from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden indicate that by 2045, almost all air travel within a 750-mile radius could be made with hydrogen-powered aircraft. Additionally, with a novel heat exchanger currently in development, this range could be even further.
If everything falls into place, the commercialization of hydrogen flight can go really fast now. As early as 2028, the first commercial hydrogen flights in Sweden could be in the air, says Tomas Grönstedt, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, and Director of the competence center TechForH2* at Chalmers.
These technological advances can be seen inside the Chalmers wind tunnels, where researchers test airflow conditions in cutting-edge facilities. Here, more energy-efficient engines are being developed that pave the way for safe and efficient hydrogen flight for heavy-duty vehicles.
If everything falls into place, the commercialization of hydrogen flight can go really fast now. As early as 2028, the first commercial hydrogen flights in Sweden could be in the air, says Tomas Grönstedt, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, and Director of the competence center TechForH2* at Chalmers.
These technological advances can be seen inside the Chalmers wind tunnels, where researchers test airflow conditions in cutting-edge facilities. Here, more energy-efficient engines are being developed that pave the way for safe and efficient hydrogen flight for heavy-duty vehicles.
August 8, 2024
Fifty years after Nixon resigned, a key player is still angry about his pardon
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/08/elizabeth-holtzman-nixon-watergate-impeachment-pardon-trump-bidenElizabeth Holtzman, House committee member who reviewed impeachment articles, recalls gross political act
A sombre US president addresses the nation from the Oval Office. Despite all he has achieved, he will relinquish power and pass the torch to his vice-president. It is clear that he is bowing to pressure from his own party and leaving against his will.
This was Joe Biden in 2024. It was also Richard Nixon in very different circumstances 50 years ago on Thursday. Disgraced by the Watergate break-in and cover-up, Nixon would claim an unwanted place in history as the first and still only person to resign the American presidency.
For Elizabeth Holtzman, who at the time was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, it was a day of hope an affirmation of Americas system of checks and balances holding Nixon to account for his role in the Watergate scandal. But her optimism did not last long. A month later, Nixon was granted a full pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.
The pardon was unpardonable, Holtzman, who turns 83 this week, says by phone from her home in Brooklyn, New York. The pardon created a double standard of justice: one for the high and mighty in this country and another for everybody else.
Half a century later, she still suspects that Fords motives were less noble than are often portrayed and worries that he set a dangerous precedent for the likes of Donald Trump. But as she reflects on a long career as a trailblazer, Holtzman is optimistic about the potential for America to elect its first female president in November.
This was Joe Biden in 2024. It was also Richard Nixon in very different circumstances 50 years ago on Thursday. Disgraced by the Watergate break-in and cover-up, Nixon would claim an unwanted place in history as the first and still only person to resign the American presidency.
For Elizabeth Holtzman, who at the time was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, it was a day of hope an affirmation of Americas system of checks and balances holding Nixon to account for his role in the Watergate scandal. But her optimism did not last long. A month later, Nixon was granted a full pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.
The pardon was unpardonable, Holtzman, who turns 83 this week, says by phone from her home in Brooklyn, New York. The pardon created a double standard of justice: one for the high and mighty in this country and another for everybody else.
Half a century later, she still suspects that Fords motives were less noble than are often portrayed and worries that he set a dangerous precedent for the likes of Donald Trump. But as she reflects on a long career as a trailblazer, Holtzman is optimistic about the potential for America to elect its first female president in November.
August 6, 2024
This is just a start - I had to get it off my chest so I could sleep a bit tonight. I still don't trust many, many of them.
Questions for all those Republicans who are now saying we should get rid of trump
Are you just wanting a new figurehead with a little less baggage? Someone with an ounce or two of personality? Are you hoping for a Ronnie Reagan 2.0?
Are you still hoping that the "repuglican" platform(s) (whatever they are) will become the guiding light for some new administration and your party? Can you even enunciate what your platform(s) state?
Will you help to reform the Supreme Court? Will you work to get term limits and an enforceable code of ethics? Can you state how this would best work?
Are you still in favor of letting the states decide what happens for women's rights? Are you still in favor of letting state legislatures control the allocation of congressional boundaries with no regard to fairness?
If you are in a position of power, will you help or hinder the prosecution of all people that tried to overthrow this government before and after the November 2020 election?
Do you agree that no person, even a President, is above the rule of law? Do you think Donald J. Trump should be prosecuted according to the established rule of law without the interference of his hand-picked SC justices and the RW hold-overs? Would you go on the record to support this, or would you just voice your "concerns"?
Do you think that it is OK for corporations to have more power than citizens? That money trumps individual rights? Have you ever demonstrated your position in public in the past?
This is just a start - I had to get it off my chest so I could sleep a bit tonight. I still don't trust many, many of them.
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